The internet is a great system (I do not like to call it an 'invention') for doing all sorts of things. Reading the news, doing research, listening to music, and plainly just talking to friends. The internet seemed like it was something that had to happen. People, our curiosity, we need to know things. Who was drafted in the 1983 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins? I may know one player, but not all. Simply, look it up. How many frog species are there in the world? Chances are you will be able to find the answer via the internet.
Remember the fun times (not to say that it still isn't fun debating) when you would have to argue and then wait to find out the answer through archaic research. Perhaps what was more fun was placing a bet then calling up a person who both of you knew, who knew the answer to your debatable question. What happened to that person? Sometimes I miss that phone call. All you were needed for was to be a reference to some insignificant question that somehow became important. Your significance, however, lay in your knowledge.
Now we have the internet and it truly is amazing when one thinks about what type of 'thing' it actually is. However, it seems the author somehow became insignificant. I know we can all scroll down to the bottom of a wiki site and find who 'contributed' to the article. But how many times do we do that? The card-catalog. Everyone knows--if old enough--that you saw the title of the book and the author's name as well. Everything is detached from a writing stand-point. Information is not as important because it is easier to access. Human beings made it quicker to find out things. Simple. Truth has become rumor.
It has produced a quickness in communication that is unheard of. Nobody ever really thought about it too long ago, it just kind of happened. Look around. See the people on the street. Watch the commercials on TV about texting and driving. What are these people doing and who are they talking to? Whose writings are they reading? I don't know, do you?
No comments:
Post a Comment